After Badal, Hooda vies for Bansal’s rail industry offer

SummaryContinuing its rivalry with Punjab over seeking a bigger share of central projects, Haryana on Monday asked the Centre to pick “appropriate land” in the state for setting up of a proposed railway industry.

Continuing its rivalry with Punjab over seeking a bigger share of central projects, Haryana on Monday asked the Centre to pick “appropriate land” in the state for setting up of a proposed railway industry.

Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda urged Union Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal to send a team of officials to Haryana to select the land for the purpose.

Hooda’s offer comes a day after Bansal suggested that the state governments of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh should identify and give land for development of a railway industry in the region. Earlier on Sunday, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had assured Bansal of responding “immediately and positively” to any proposal of setting up a railway industry in the state. “We are in fact keen on any such proposals from all central ministries. In fact, we have been begging for it,” Badal had said.

On Monday, Hooda, in his statement, chose to hardsell Haryana while appreciating Bansal’s plan to develop railway industry on the pattern of West Bengal in the states adjacent to Chandigarh.

“The state government has implemented an investment and industrial-friendly policy, which is yielding encouraging results. Haryana is the first choice for industrial investors and the state has adequate technical manpower”, Hooda said, adding that with the setting up of a railway industry in the state, auxiliary units will come up and generate ample employment opportunities to further strengthen the economy.